Don’t Choke the Word

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  05/07/22

Yesterday we looked at two types of soil that Satan targets. Today we will look at the third.

The third type of soil that Satan targets is the spoiled soil. “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22).

Here the problem isn’t so much the soil, but the competing seeds that Satan has tossed into the mix. How can God’s seeds grow and flourish when the choking plants of busyness, material ambition, and anxiety overwhelm the crop?

Jesus encourages us: “But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew 13:23). This fertile soil belongs to those who vigilantly protect the seeds of God’s Word from hardened hearts, shallow faith, and thorns of distraction.

What type of soil are you? Has your heart been hardened and untilled for so long that the seeds of God’s Word just bounce away? Is your soil rocky and shallow because you have never made the disciplined effort to fully develop your spiritual life? Do you allow busyness to distract you from studying God’s Word?

Prayer: Father, forgive me for the things in my life that have hindered Your Word from fully developing in me. I pray that You would nurture Your seeds of Truth in my life. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word” (Psalm 119:16).